Apple dropped its first system-wide refresh of 2007 last week, sprucing up its MacBook line ahead of the more eagerly anticipated upgrade to the MacBook Pro.

The minor MacBook update flew under the radar until days before the announcement, when inventory levels made it apparent an update was imminent. The MacBooks received a speed bump of roughly 170 MHz; the low-end MacBook now clocks in with a 2.0-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo site, while the mid-range and high-end MacBook tips the scales at 2.16 GHz.

The low-end MacBook also now comes equipped with 1 GB of RAM standard, equaling the other models, while hard drive capacities have been increased 20 GB on the low end (for a total of 80 GB) and 40 GB on the other models (to 120 GB and 160 GB, respectively). Pricing remains unchanged, at $1,099, $1,299, and $1,499 for the three models.

Following the speed bump, the MacBook now overlaps the MacBook Pro in performance, as Apple's entry level premium laptop also features a 2.16-GHz processor. But that is poised to change in the coming weeks when Apple upgrades the MacBook Pro with Intel's new Santa Rosa mobile architecture, which along with processor speeds of up to 2.4 GHz also features a faster system bus: 800 MHz versus 667 MHz in the current MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops.

As previously reported here, the 15.4-inch MacBook Pro will sport a brand new display with an LED backlight, Apple's first such product offering. Supply constraints surrounding that part could delay the MacBook Pro's roll-out, however. Mixed information has been emerging from Think Secret sources surrounding the roll-out date; while reliable sources had initially pegged a date of May 29, two weeks after the MacBook update, they now believe a roll-out closer to Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference on June 11 is more reasonable. Other sources, meanwhile, maintain that Apple will not be able to deliver any system with the new display until closer to the end of June.

Apple's 17-inch MacBook Pro will not see a substantial display improvement with this revision, however. LED backlight technology has yet to be deployed for displays that size and larger, and is not expected to arrive until the end of the year. Similarly, the 17-inch MacBook Pro will continue to sport a resolution of 1680x1050, sources say, and will not see a bump to the native high-definition resolution of 1920x1200. Apple has considered upgrading its 17-inch laptop to that high-def resolution for more than two years, and even briefly included a reference to it in manuals accompanying the 17-inch PowerBook two years ago.

Meanwhile, a pending iMac update will see the end of that 17-inch model entirely, sources say. As display prices continue to drop, Apple will offer the iMac only in 20-inch and 24-inch versions when the new model is announced, which could come as early as mid-to-late June. Apple trimmed its Cinema Display prices in April, and has not touched the iMac since September 2006.

According to other published reports, the next iMac will feature a completely new enclosure, marking the iMac's fourth major redesign since its introduction in 1998.

While specific details of the iMac update have eluded Think Secret sources, the iMac has shared the same architecture as the MacBook Pro since Apple's switch to the Intel platform in January 2006, making the system ripe for an update alongside the MacBook Pro. Accordingly, it is all but certain that the iMac will adopt the new Santa Rosa architecture with faster processor and bus speeds, as well, a rather substantial update fitting of a new enclosure.

It is unclear at this time how pricing will be affected by Apple's decision to drop the 17-inch iMac. Apple currently offers that iMac in two configurations for $999 and $1,199, while the 20-inch model carries a price tag of $1,499. Apple has flirted with and abandoned sub-$1,000 iMac models in the past, and it appears almost certain that with the 17-inch model's departure, the iMac will return to four-figure pricing.

The move may be particularly worrisome for education customers, who saw Apple kill off the affordable and education-friendly eMac last year, the last Mac to feature a PowerPC processor and CRT display. Shortly after that decision, Apple released the $999 Intel iMac.

Apple certainly is not seeking to alienate an important customer base, however, and thus seems poised to position the diminutive Mac mini as its classroom system.

Rumblings suggest that the Mac mini, which starts at $599, is also getting ready for an update, although details beyond word of a speed bump are scarce. The Mac mini is the only Apple system that continues to use Intel's 32-bit Core Duo processor.

Nick DePlume and the ThinkSecret staff cover Apple, the Macintosh, and related software with a mixture of news and other inside information. Check them out at http://www.thinksecret.com.

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